Hamas says ready for 'complete agreement' if Israel ends war
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says it has told mediators that it is ready for a "complete agreement" only if Israel stops the war, rejecting further talks amid the ongoing war.
"Today, we informed the mediators of our clear position that if the occupation stops its war and aggression against our people in Gaza, our readiness (is) to reach a complete agreement that includes a comprehensive exchange deal," Hamas said in a statement.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Tuesday that Tel Aviv had handed over a written Israeli proposal to key mediators, Qatar and Egypt, to resume negotiations for the exchange of captives with Hamas and a ceasefire in Gaza.
The last round of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel, hosted by Egypt earlier this month, stalled due to the regime’s invasion of the southern city of Rafah.
Hamas stressed that it will not take part in further talks as long as the genocidal war continues.
"Hamas and the Palestinian factions will not accept to be part of this policy by continuing negotiations in light of the aggression, siege, starvation and genocide of our people," the statement read.
The group noted that it has showed “flexibility and positivity in response to the efforts of the mediators throughout all previous indirect negotiating rounds.”
However, Hamas said, Israel used the talks "as a cover for the continuation of aggression and massacres against the Palestinian people”, referring to the ground invasion of Rafah and the seizure of the vital crossing with Egypt as evidence.
The Israeli invasion of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population have sought shelter from Israeli strikes elsewhere in the besieged Palestinian territory, has forced more than one million Palestinians to “flee” the city, according to the United Nations.
The invasion continues unabated despite an order from the UN's top court for Israel to "immediately halt" its military assault on the southern city.
Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas mounted the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.
Tel Aviv has also blocked water, food, and electricity to Gaza, plunging the coastal strip into a humanitarian crisis.
Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 36,224 Palestinians and injured 81,777 more.
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